Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Oh Really? a.k.a. I wish I could go on SNL and do a skit on this...

Indianapolis Republican City Councilman Mike Speedy had a proposed BSL bill tabled recently, and our good friend Brent Toellner posted on it at KC Dog Blog. It appears the apparently well-intentioned Mr. Speedy doesn't want to let the issue die quietly and is continuing to get his views into the press. We do live in a country with freedom of speech and I applaud his tenacity.His letter to the editor appeared in yesterday's Indy Star and has already garnered 31 comments, not surprisingly.Again, I say he appears well intentioned. He uses whole paragraphs devoted to stroking the egos of dog advocates:"no other "bad rap" breed such as Dobermans or German Shepherds ever endured more than 20 years of abuse, torture, neglect, dog fighting or less desire to adopt from the public. Animal welfare groups and pit bull advocates have given their all for the past 10 years for voluntary pit bull specific spay/neuter,adoption, outreach and training programs with little progress."(btw - Thanks. We know we have tough jobs. Ummmmm....your facts are wrong...but I'll leave that to others to counter.)

However - it is after this point that Councilman Speedy off the rails and shows that, like his name, the quickest solution is not always the easiest one:The At-Risk Dog proposal simply requires the registration and sterilization of pit bulls, dogs specifically bred for dog fighting. If you reduce the population in a humane way, you will reduce the bites and the status image, and you will make the dog fighters and criminals easier to find.

Wow. It's that easy, huh?Why didn't we think of that?Seriously?All we have to do is require people to register the dogs they are using for fighting and then they will bring them in and we can catch them then!Amazing!Brilliant! Bloody brilliant!Someone buy this man a Guinness!Really?If it were that easy we would be passing these laws every day every where!You think that passing a law like this and calling it "at-risk" makes it any less threatening to bully breed owners?Really?Have you thought of the consequences? Haven't you wondered why every other council person was opposed to this? Have you investigated that as thoroughly as you did your "facts" regarding dog bites?Really? Seriously?Please, people.

*Ways to help sheltered and rescued pit bulls:

1. Volunteer to help local spay/neuter efforts.2. Supply hand-outs to help educate the public about pit bulls.3. Volunteer to help update a shelter's website.4. Donate a Karunda bed so dogs can sleep better.5. Donate tuff toys like large kong balls.6. Volunteer to walk dogs that are waiting for homes. *copied with permission from badrap-blog.blogspot.com